It is no news that Cillian Murphy is indeed one of the finest actors in all of the entertainment industry. Renowned for his epic superhit series Peaky Blinders and his recent nuclear blockbuster Oppenheimer, the 47-year-old Hollywood heartthrob has presented his fans with some of the most cinematic experiences of all time. Despite that, Murphy doesn’t watch his own works.
Though such has become the trend that many other actors and actresses follow as well, Cillian Murphy sticks strictly to this act of not watching any of the films that he stars in. But even then, there’s an exception to this unspoken rule, and this exception is the very cult classic of his that will soon be getting its sequel trilogy after being released more than two decades ago: 28 Days Later.
The Only Self-Starrer Cillian Murphy Has Rewatched: 28 Days Later
When actors sign up for projects, they have a vague idea of what they’re signing up for, especially after reading the scripts and such. And it’s only after the projects are completed and released that they realize how special and meaningful some have been to them.
The same is the case with Cillian Murphy; though in his case, there’s only one such film that came close enough to him even rewatching it: His 2002 released tremendously commended horror/sci-fi masterpiece — that was notably an even greater success at the box offices, 28 Days Later.
During a recent interview with Variety, the Oppenheimer star shared the same while talking about the movie that became such a massive cult classic that it is reportedly finally getting its sequel trilogy after almost two decades, which would be titled 28 Years Later. He said:
“I never watch my own films, except that one [28 Days Later]. It’s always on around Halloween and during the pandemic people were constantly sending me clips. And I’ve shown it to my kids. And it’s really stood up, even though it’s something like 23 years old now.”
Released a little over 21 years ago, 28 Days Later starred Cillian Murphy in the lead as Jim, a bicycle courier who wakes up from a coma only to discover that a highly contagious deadly virus has accidentally spread in London, which apparently turns everyone it infects into braindead killers.
Not only did this film garner a lot of brilliant critical commendations, but it also performed even more outstandingly at the worldwide box offices, bringing in a whopping $84.6 million over its budget of a minimal $8 million, as reported by Box Office Mojo.
This was followed by 28 Weeks Later in 2007, which didn’t involve Murphy in any starring role, but as a producer, and starred Jeremy Renner in the lead as Sergeant Doyle in a similar backdrop. This sequel was good as well, though it failed to deliver up to the mark that its prequel set five years before it.
Now, after more than two decades have passed since the original film, 28 Days Later is getting another sequel, 28 Years Later, which would reportedly be a potential trilogy. However this time, Cillian Murphy doesn’t have a clear answer to whether his character will return or not.
Cillian Murphy’s Response To If His Character Would Return To 28 Years Later
Continuing to talk in the same interview, Cillian Murphy was then asked whether his fan-favorite character Jim the Bicycle Courier would be returning to 28 Years Later or not. Responding to this question, The Dark Knight Trilogy star said:
“I can’t give much more at this point. But I’ve always said I would love to be involved because that movie changed everything for me, and I have great affection for it and for those guys, Alex [Garland] and Danny [Boyle].”
But at the same time, he also admitted that he was more than just happy for this third film and potential sequel trilogy to 28 Days Later, as he said: “I’m really thrilled that we’ll get the band back together to make this one.”
As for now, until further details get confirmed about 28 Years Later, you can stream 28 Days Later on Prime Video and 28 Weeks Later on Hulu.
